The rapid spread of COVID-19 (i.e. Coronavirus) has been definitively brutal, as hundreds of thousands of individuals around the globe are tested and others are losing their jobs under the weight of the economic downfall that has happened across various industries as a result of the pandemic. Life as we know it right now is vastly different to life even three months ago, as COVID-19 continues to haphazardly prove itself to be a force to be reckoned with over and over again. Whether it is adjusting to learning or working online temporarily as social distancing laws and regulations are held firmly in place, or simply keeping oneself entertained with all the spare time that they suddenly have, it is interesting to note that this is a time where quite literally every aspect of life as we know it is being challenged and essentially forced into a kind of evolution.
Technology plays a more important role than ever
In the wake of this global pandemic, it has become more and more obvious that (both existing and emerging) technologies are playing a more and more central role in the way that this newfound take on modern life is continuing to unfold. The ways that we previously navigated our way through this modern age have effectively been thrown into chaos, forcibly evolving as the rest of the world evolves to deal with COVID-19 not just now, but in the coming months (and years, in some ways). Emerging and existing technologies are being utilised far more heavily and far more often in our daily lives during COVID-19, and it is important to understand exactly how and why this is to be able to adequately understand why this will likely, if not certainly, continue to prove to be truer than true.
How emerging technologies are changing the game
In the case of emerging technologies specifically, these are more or less often (if not nearly always) innovations that are introduced and implemented to make life better in some way. Now, as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around the globe, these emerging technologies are coming out of the woodwork more than ever and merging with existing technological innovations and innovators like popular internet providers to make life in these unfamiliar times more comfortable and reliable. From the emergence of IoT dominance to the heightened utilisation of technological innovations like Slack and Zoom as schools and workplaces go remote (most of them temporarily so, but still), emerging waves of technology are changing the game from the inside out.
What we can expect in the coming months
More than ever, we can expect a significant increase and ongoing commitment to innovations like digitalisation and technological advancement, if for no other reason than simply because they are playing a more commonplace role in life right now than they ever have before. The same can be and should be said for emerging technologies. Above all else, this is just the start and it is more important than ever to be steadfast in the commitment to and pursuit of emerging technologies and everything that they can and do offer – especially when the world is currently spinning out as we try to overcome the challenge (to say the very least) that is the COVID-19 pandemic.